From Abracadabra to Zombies

What's the harm? No. 9

These links and comments illustrate the harm
done by occult, paranormal, pseudoscientific, and supernatural
beliefs. The harm may be tangible and easily documented:
physical, financial, or interpersonal.

November 26, 2007. Michael J. Berens and Christine Willmsen of the
Seattle Times report that U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee has called for a
congressional investigation into "energy medicine" machines after a
5-month-old boy died following a useless treatment with a machine called
a PAP-IMI.

"I fear these may be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to deadly scams
aimed at vulnerable Americans who are sick and holding out hope for a cure
to what ails them," Inslee said.

All these machines are useless variations of the
1920s radionics device of
Albert Abrams, the quack
of the century. They are based on the false belief that illness reveals itself in
energy fields that can be measured and
manipulated for health by the magical device. Generally, these devices are
sold with the promise that they can cure multiple diseases, such as cancer
and AIDS. All are aimed at vulnerable clients, desperate for anything that
promises hope. Newer models are likely to invoke
quantum physics to attract the
scientifically ignorant.

Berens and Willmsen also report on the death of a teenager with bone cancer
whose parents subjected him to a bit of quackery called
photo luminescence in an effort to relieve him of his pain and perhaps
cure him of his cancer.

The reporters also expose
William
Nelson as running one of America's biggest health-care frauds from
Budapest, Hungary. According to Berens and Willmsen, Nelson falsely claims
to hold eight doctorates and makes tens of millions of dollars selling a
bogus energy-medicine machine called the EPFX. Nelson also sells the
Quantum Xxroid Consciousness
Interface. A website that sells this device refers to him as a
"world-renowned scientist" and "professor." For about $20,000 you can set
yourself up as a
"Quantum
Biofeedback practitioner." No experience necessary.

November 26, 2007. Lola Miller, also
known as Donna Miller and Miss Donna
has been charged in San Jose, California, with defrauding a woman of
$445,000 in a classic con: the cleansing or
curse removal scam. Miller previously worked in San Francisco, where she
was convicted of similar charges several years ago. At the time of her
arrest, she was in New Jersey. The prosecutor in the case said that his office currently has about
half a dozen psychic scam cases under investigation. Unfortunately, Sylvia Browne's work is not
among the cases being investigated.

updateDec. 11, 2008:
Two of Lola's daughters-in-law have been charged with similar crimes.

November 15, 2007. A Christian missionary in Brazil, Cláudia Simião
da Silva, 35, died after refusing to eat or feed two children (her nieces), Adrielle,
9, and Grazielle Souza Santos Simião, 11, until she received a sign from
God. The fast lasted two months. The children, the missionary's sister, and
her mother-in-law survived on whatever food was
in the house when the fast began. They were severely malnourished and
mentally confused when they were found. The children are expected to be hospitalized
for about a month. Jose Carlos Lima, a neighbor, said the children were just
skin and bone.

November 14, 2007. Six family members aged 34
to 47 died in their Vietnamese village after drinking a rice wine with roots
of a wild plant inside. Such homemade herbal wines are common in northern
Vietnam, according to
EarthTimes.
Sometimes the wine, known as ruouis spiced up with snakes, geckos, or crows.

The
Associated Press also reports that there may be some serious dangers in
herbal alternatives to Viagra and Cialis. For men on common heart and
blood-pressure drugs, popping one allegedly safe and "natural" herbal pill
could lead to a stroke or even death.

"All-natural" products "like Stamina-RX and Vigor-25 promise an
apothecary's delight of rare Asian ingredients, but many work because they
contain unregulated versions of the very pharmaceuticals they are supposed
to replace."

November 12, 2007. A New Zealand woman and mother-of-two apparently
drowned at a home in Wainuiomata, near Wellington, during a Māori ritual when she was held under water to drive out an evil
curse put on her because a family member had
stolen a treasured artifact. Police estimate that about thirty people were
present at the "mākutu-lifting" event.

An archdeacon of the Anglican Maori Church, said the ritual is
commonplace and that water is used to cleanse the possessed.

Six other people were also exorcised during the ritual ceremony, including
Moses's 14-year-old cousin who was nearly killed.*
The 14-year-old had her eyes scratched to "remove the devil" and was nearly
blinded in the process.*

update:
December 11, 2007. Nine people were charged with manslaughter
and ordered not to take part in any more makutu-lifting ceremonies.

update:
June 12, 2009. Five of those charged with manslaughter were found
guilty. Nobody was charged with 'ignorance of mental illness.'

November 9, 2007. Exorcism is a growing force in Algerian society,
with many seeking aid from spiritual healers when traditional medicine is
unavailable or unaffordable. Such healers – known as raquis –
practice roquia, or rituals used for purposes ranging from curing
headaches to relieving a soul from demonic possession. The treatments
involve incantations of specific Qur'anic verses over a container of water,
which is given to the afflicted person to drink or applied directly to the
affected area.

Last year, two siblings aged 18 and 17 died after drinking 60 liters
of water. "They were possessed; the treatment the doctor had prescribed had
done nothing, so I thought I was doing the right thing calling in a raqui,"
said their mother. "It was my faith in God that compelled me to do it."

October 9, 2007.
Peter Canter, of the Peninsula medical school in Exeter, England, believes
herbal cocktails mixed by herbalists for specific customers should be
banned. The designer herbs are concocted with "an
almost total absence of evidence for any benefit." Canter makes no exception
for traditional Chinese herbalists or Ayurvedic
practitioners.

Canter and his colleague, Edzard Ernst, also have concerns about the single
herb extracts sold as "health foods." Some herbs are powerful medicines and
could do damage by interacting with conventional drugs. Only qualified
medical practitioners should be prescribing herbs.

Prince Charles disagrees, of course, since he has his own
foundation that supports all kinds of so-called complementary medicine (The
Prince of Wales' Foundation for Integrated Medicine). Compounding the
problem is the fact that there are tens of thousands of websites offering
herbal products on-line.

Canter and Ernst have recently published a study of herbal medicine. They
found that out of 1,300 papers in the scientific literature, only three were
properly controlled, randomized trials.

Another concern is that some herbs are inherently toxic, yet they are used in
a number of designer-herb packages. The authors note "numerous cases" of
banned toxic herbs turning up in
individualized herbal medicines.

The head of the Prince of Wales Foundation reminded the press that the
absence of evidence of efficacy does not mean that the herbs are not
efficacious.

A list of what works and what's harmful is given in
the
Guardian article on the Canter & Ernst study. The list is reproduced
here:

What works - and the risks

Kava kava

For anxiety. Banned in Britain because of three deaths and six
transplants resulting from liver toxicity.

Ginkgo biloba

Leaves of the oldest living tree species - for dementia. Some concern
over possible increased risk of brain hemorrhage.

Devil's claw

For musculo-skeletal pain, such as backache. May increase stomach acid
and should be avoided by people with ulcers.

Saw palmetto

For enlarged prostate. Should not be taken with drugs like aspirin or
warfarin which increase bleeding, and may interfere with the pill.

St John's wort

For depression. Interacts with some conventional drugs, such as immune
system suppressants, causing heart transplants to be rejected, and the
pill.

Valerian

For insomnia. High doses may cause a drug "hangover" effect.

Hawthorn

For congestive heart disease. Too serious a condition for
self-treatment.

North American flower for the common cold. Some people have allergic
reactions. [note: "Studies indicate that echinacea does not appear to
prevent colds or other infections. They also have not been able to prove
that echinacea shortens the course of colds or flu."*]

The most bizarre twist in the case was the suggestion that the demons jumped
ship from David to his sister's boyfriend, Arne Cheyenne Johnson, who was
arrested and convicted of manslaughter for stabbing his landlord to death.

"He thought the whole thing was behind him," said attorney Greg T. Nolan,
who is representing the Glatzels. "He doesn't want everyone to think of him
as the guy who was possessed by Satan."*
Carl says his brother suffered from a mental illness from which he has since
recovered and that his family was manipulated and exploited by the Warrens.

Even thought the statute of limitations for such a lawsuit ran out about 20
years ago, the reprinting of the book last year opened the door for a new
day in court.

Warren, now 80, says she doesn't understand what the fuss is all about.
According to her, six Catholic priests agreed with her and her husband that
David was possessed.

Years ago, Warren and her husband Ed,
working as "demonologists," claimed to have sensed spirits at an allegedly
haunted house in Amityville,
New York.

About harm

It is difficult to assess the harm done to society and the
world at large by the spread and encouragement of
anti-scientific, irrational, and magical thinking. It is also
difficult to measure the extent of harm done to individuals
and their families who give up thinking for themselves to
follow some guru astrologer, psychic, or cult leader.

It is
impossible to calculate the losses to those bilked because
they are ignorant of basic logical and psychological
principles.